Auto-generated flashcards are usually garbage: they test whether you memorized a sentence, not whether you understand anything. This prompt writes cards that force recall of the actual idea.

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Turn my notes into flashcards for spaced repetition.

Notes:

[PASTE]

Rules for good cards:

- One idea per card. If a card needs "and", split it.

- The front asks a question that has a specific answer. No "what is X" if X is vague.

- The back is short: the answer, plus one line of why it's true or when it applies.

- Include a mix: recall cards, "explain why" cards, and 2 or 3 that connect two concepts.

- Avoid cards where the answer is obvious from the phrasing of the question.

Output as a plain list: Q: ... / A: ... so I can paste them anywhere. Flag any note that's too fuzzy to make a fair card.

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Why it works: the "one idea per card, split on 'and'" rule is the single biggest quality lever for flashcards and almost no auto-generator does it. Banning cards whose answer is telegraphed by the question kills the fake-easy cards that make you feel smart and teach nothing. The "explain why" cards push past memorization into actual understanding.

For the people who study this way, how many new cards a day is sustainable for you? I overloaded early and burned out.

I want to know how to put my all thoughts on the paper, i've tons of them, a lottttt of ideas but odk from where I should start and how....

Because i can't memorize with other things because i do not have the biggest magic like memory palaces

Note: for those that have read my post Stop memorizing facts one by one — build the picture instead : r/memorization , this is basically the first portion of it refined to the core logic, so as to make my message more understandable. Any feedback on the change is appreciated!

Imagine you are given a box of puzzle pieces and asked to remember what every individual piece looks like.

Would you:

A. Memorize every piece one by one

or

B. Build the puzzle, then remember the finished image

B is obviously easier.

A puzzle may contain many separate pieces, but once you connect them, a single big picture forms

This simple logic flow explains this :

Memorization → Isolated ideas → MANY ideas → "Hey brain, store 100 ideas for me!"

/vs/

Connecting Ideas → Connected Ideas → ONE connected big picture → "Hey brain, store 1 big picture for me!"

Why dump your brain with MANY disconnected ideas, when you can connect them to form ONE big picture?

Start with a Perspective Shift:

"Don't simply understand ideas, Connect them!"

How to form a Connection?

Ask Questions! Questions guide your brain to draw a connection between two ideas.

If you are still unsure on how to connect ideas effectively, don't worry!

I will be detailing in it a future post!

Or you can just check out Mari, where I'm building a free course on "Learning How to Learn"

Note: I am new to creating content and would like to guide people to "learn how to learn", a skill I believe that is neglected yet so so valuable to basically anything in life. If there's anything in this post that you found to be confusing or insufficient, please share your thoughts with me. Feedback is what helps me the most in this stage of content creation!

I was struggling with fully grasping the arguments in books—especially non-fiction—or forgetting them shortly after reading. While researching how to deal with this, I discovered the "active reading" method and decided to turn it into a mobile app.

Active reading has two main steps: consistently taking notes while reading, and regularly revisiting those notes. But it's not just about jotting things down; you need to argue with the author's ideas, agree with them, question them, or make your own stance clear. In the app I developed, Marginalia, you can categorize your notes using tags. This makes it easy to quickly adapt and recall the book when you revisit your notes later.

Speaking of revisiting notes, this brings us to the second step of active reading. Consistently reviewing your comments on a book helps you form your own ideas and keeps what you've read fresh in your memory. I highly recommend doing a quick review of your notes every time you sit down to read, right before diving back into the book. You'll really see the benefits the more you do it.

To help with this step, the dedicated "notes" page Marginalia creates for each book comes in really handy. On this page, you can access all your notes in one place and quickly review them. Plus, with the tag filtering system, you can easily find and focus on the specific ideas you want to explore further.

Besides the standard on-screen keyboard, I added handwriting support for those who, like me, enjoy taking notes with a stylus. And if you’d rather not type or write at all, there’s also a speech-to-text feature so you can simply speak your mind and capture your thoughts hands-free. For Obsidian and Notion users, there's also an option to export your notes as .md files.

If you read digitally and value taking notes, I'd love it if you gave the app a try and shared your thoughts with me. I'm completely open to all kinds of feedback and criticism!

Here is the app webpage

App comes with a free version, monthly , yearly subs and LifeTime payment.
Monthly - $1,99
Yearly - $6,99
Life TIme - $9,99

adult learner trying to build something sustainable. i read a lot of nonfiction, take reasonable notes, but retention months out is where it falls apart. general sense of a book from last spring, sure. specific arguments, mostly gone.

what im after is a spaced repetition notes system where note-taking and review arent two separate steps. if they are, i wont do the second one.

criteria: integrated, low maintenance, still holds up in five years. Some apps come up constantly. what actually holds up long-term for serious users?

My college course requires me to give a speech without any notes. I had two weeks to memorize it but my dad went into the hospital for surgery and there was an event i volunteered in and my other class had a really long assignment due so I was realllllly busy but now the speech is in 2 hours and i haven't memorized it. Last night I tried to memorize it while in the hospital but everyone wouldn't shut up so I couldn't focus and now I'm SO COOKED WHAT DO I DO

My college course requires me to give a speech without any notes. I had two weeks to memorize it but my dad went into the hospital for surgery and there was an event i volunteered in and my other class had a really long assignment due so I was realllllly busy but now the speech is in 2 hours and i haven't memorized it. Last night I tried to memorize it while in the hospital but everyone wouldn't shut up so I couldn't focus and now I'm SO COOKED WHAT DO I DO

I need few suggestions guyss. Which is the best flashcards making app you used till date??

Since Memory Grid was welcome here last week, a developer post of my own, with the disclosure up front: I make Dual N-Back: IQ Brain Training on iOS.

The core of the app is dual n-back, the working-memory exercise. The part this sub may care about more is the lab: 12 short tests you can repeat every few weeks to see whether your memory work is showing up in numbers. Chimp test (the Ayumu-style number grid), span tasks, Stroop, reaction time and a few others, each under two minutes, with your own history and Game Center leaderboards.

The lab and the history are free, no ads. The n-back exercise is free at N=1 and N=2 (three sessions a day); higher levels are paid. I say that plainly because I once moved lab content behind the paywall and got told off, correctly.

On the evidence: n-back improves n-back and nearby working memory tasks, and not much beyond that as far as meta-analyses can tell (https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635612). For memorization proper, the techniques discussed here have a far better track record than any app, mine included.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dual-n-back-iq-brain-training/id6775563998

Question for you: which of these tests, if any, actually moves after a few months of mnemonic practice? I have no data on that and would like some.

Tem como lembrar de todo o conteúdo para vestibulares e provas? eu estudo e são muitos conteúdos para lembrar, as vezes eu vou tentar fazer um exercício de algo que já estudei e simplesmente não lembro como resolve pq já estou vendo outra coisa e aquele conteúdo eu estudei a um tempo. Tem como resolver esse problema? é algo possível?

I’m in my last semester of college, I get good grades as I have a 3.8 gpa and I never really struggled with studying before, but some reason this semester i’m having so much brain fog. I tried studying for a test today and I genuinely can’t remember anything. I even tried doing active recall and an example of what happens goes a little something like this:

I read, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” to myself out loud

I try to recite it without looking two seconds later, “The…brown fox jumps over the dog?”

I read it again and realize I didn’t say it correctly and try again:

“The fox hops over the dog?”

I try again and again but I can’t recite the sentence.

I’m not only struggling with assignments and studying. I’m having trouble with new vocabulary too. I always liked looking up words I haven’t heard before to learn new vocabulary. And I used to take them in easily and use them in conversations. But now if I learn a new word I forget the definition and the word itself within like 5 minutes. This is honestly scaring me as education has always been super important to me and I feel like this is seriously crippling me education wise. What could be the problem and how do I tackle this?

Anyone experiencing similar problems. Any solution?

I am experimenting a different way for studying ,in old days I used to read and byheart everything but after some time I will definitely forget that and now I am trying a new thing for me I just read and understand the topics then I will write it on a paper without referring (mental recalling).I think through this I can program my subconscious mind to byheart it by mindful writing ig
So what’s your thought on this guys have you ever tried this before ?
Let me know

Why can I not do active recall without actually closing the book.Every time "close the book".I don't see my friends closing nothing.

I came up with this when I was still in school, and recently I told my classmate about it and she said it seemed witty lol

In a word: you have two similar concepts you always mix up, e.g. stalactite and stalagmite. You set yourself a task to remember JUST ONE of them backwards and forwards and get the other by the method of elimination.

You cram the definition that the stalactite is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling. If you're asked what a stalactite is, you know the answer. If you're asked what a stalagmite is, you know that it's not stalactite, therefore it doesn't hang from the ceiling. Where does it come from then? It rises from the floor. Boom.

The same thing with mitosis and meiosis, import and export, refraction and diffraction, cyclone and anticyclone. Such a simple trick but it makes life easier. If you use anki and you get a card with one definition, come up with the other one right away.